By
Bev Sedlacek
A Commentary on
the Sabbath School Lesson for April 9–15, 2005
Recently, I attended a
national business conference held in a city where a dear non-Adventist
friend lives. We e-mailed back and forth trying to work out
a time to see each other and ultimately discovered that the
only time available was Sabbath morning.
I had a decision to make:
Would I spend time with my dear friend or attend Sabbath services?
I whispered a prayer and e-mailed her that I could not leave
the city without seeing her, then I asked when and where could
we meet. Of course, the time determined was 11:00 a.m., right
when morning services were starting.
On that morning, we greeted
each other with hugs and kisses and got caught up on happenings
in our lives since we had last seen each other. She apologized
for forgetting that we were meeting during my church. I reminded
her that Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
Our visit was sweet and
she thanked me profusely for taking time out of my schedule
to see her. She told me that she understood the significance
of the time I had "sacrificed." I reminded her that
she was precious and that I saw her as my Sabbath blessing.
After a season of prayer and long hugs, we departed, agreeing
to keep in touch.
I have since reflected
upon this encounter, especially in light of events in chapters
2 and 3 of the Gospel of Mark. I did not hesitate to connect
with my friend on the Sabbath because as I personalized Mark
2:28: the Sabbath was made for me, and not me for the Sabbath.
Enjoying the Sabbath meant spending time with my friend. I
even enjoyed a wonderful meal with her. Fellowship and food
are important elements in my understanding of the Sabbath.
In fact, fellowship, food, and Sabbath have some significant
historical ties that provide a framework in which to understand
the events of Mark in the grain field.
Tracing the steps of the
children of Israel, God sought to restore the sacredness of
the Sabbath. He started in the midst of their distress as
expressed in Exodus 16. From their perspective, there was
no food. In fact, in verse 13, in their distress they said
to Moses, "We’re sorry we listened to you and followed
you out here to this wilderness!! It would have
been better to die by the hand of the Lord in Egypt than to
die by starvation out here in this God-forsaken place"
(Clear Word). The rest of the chapter tells how God provided
meat and bread to the wanderers, and how he connected the
collection and storage of manna to the Sabbath.
It is interesting to note
that the Pharisees sought to chastise Jesus and his disciples
for collecting food on the Sabbath. They did not recall that
it was God who had established the sacredness of the day by
providing food the way he wanted, and surely he could do so
again. Can God be trusted to provide for his children?
As infants, our experience
of developing trust occurs when we are hungry, cry, and get
the attention of our caregiver, who responds by picking us
up and giving us food. We are satisfied and fall asleep, or
we play quietly until the cycle starts over again. In the
context of this primary relationship, we can be confident
of being able to "rest" and know that we will be
cared for. In time, we grow up with a foundation of trust
carried over into our experience with God. "You made
me trust while on my mother’s breast," says Psalms
22:9. This text illustrates the significance of the relationship
between food, primary relationships, and Sabbath rest.
"The Sabbath was
God’s sign between Him and His people, and evidence of
His kindness, mercy, and love" (Ellen White, Manuscript
Release, 18:31). Notice the phrase, "between Him and
His people." Could it be that the real meaning of Sabbath
is about relationships between people and their God?
It is no wonder the Pharisees missed the point! From
a legalistic perspective, relationship is relegated well below
rules and regulations. There is no need to trust among legalists
because they know what to do and what not to do based on the
rules. However, legalism leads to hardness of heart. In contrast,
a soft heart can be worked by the Spirit for moment-by-moment
direction, and it can appreciate the kindness, mercy, and
love of God.
These two stories—in
the wilderness and the grain field—are different sides
of the same coin. It appears that God’s provision of
food on the Sabbath served only to reveal the hardness of
his people’s hearts and their inability to trust. The
nature of his pain is summarized in verse 5: "Jesus was
hurt as He looked around the congregation because not one
of them seemed to know what He was talking about" (Clear
Word).
How can we learn from the lessons found in the
Gospel of Mark, chapters 2 and 3, culminating in the description
of the unpardonable sin (3:28–29)? God is and always
will be interested in winning our hearts in relationship—a
dynamic one—where we are ever growing in awareness of
his kindness, mercy, and love. The Sabbath is reminder of
his commitment to that relationship and our keeping of this
special time is an agreement that God is all that he says
he is.
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